One well-known form of an ink container for ink jet printing comprises a container shell having spaced apart side walls, a front wall, a rear wall, and a bottom wall, a partition in the shell dividing the interior thereof into first and second chambers for respectively receiving an ink and an ink absorbing material, an opening through the partition for communicating ink in the first chamber with ink absorbing material in the second chamber, an outlet port in the bottom wall for the second chamber, a cover closing the upper end of the shell, and a lever attached to the front wall of the shell and which functions to releasably interengage the ink container with a container holder.
In such ink containers and container shells heretofore available, the block of ink absorbing material in the first chamber has a planar bottom and a planar upwardly extending surface at right angles to one another and, when the block of material is in the second chamber, the two surfaces facially engage the bottom wall and partition, respectively. Accordingly, the area of the surface of the block of absorbing material exposed to the opening through the partition between the first and second chambers has an area corresponding to that of the opening. This area relationship limits the transfer rate of ink from the first chamber to the ink absorbing material in the second chamber and also limits the degree or rate of absorption of ink into the ink absorbing material. Further, the window or opening through the partition heretofore has limited the transfer of ink to the lower most portion of the ink absorbing material in the second chamber, thus limiting the saturation level maintained in the ink absorbing material and, again, limiting the rate of transfer from the first chamber to the ink absorbing material.
Further in connection with ink containers and shells heretofore available, the outlet port in the bottom wall of the second chamber receives a wicking material which is interposed between the outlet port and the ink absorbing material and through which ink is supplied to a recording head. Heretofore, the wicking material has been installed into the outlet port through the top of the ink container shell and, during installation and use, the wicking material is free to move inwardly of the second chamber against the block of ink absorbing material therein. The installation arrangement through the interior of the shell is cumbersome and at least somewhat difficult, and the unrestricted movement of the wicking material reduces the capillarity of the ink absorbing material in the region of the wick. Still further, the lever and tongue arrangement by which the ink container is mountable in and removable from a container holder has sharp edges and irregular surfaces which can be uncomfortable to a user in connection with manipulating the lever during insertion and/or removal of the container from the holder.